What The Fin??
It's like buying a meat pie and then having to pay extra for the sauce!
It's pretty simple.
Unless you're Derek Hynd, it's the easiest way of gouging another hundred bucks out of you.
But shapers make fuck all anyway, so not really worth complaining too much.
Barley, stay away from the pop outs, they're just gouging, those sponsored surfers don't come cheap! A Gravelle is $650.00 with fins supplied. We should all be supporting the local shaper or the small outfits not the corporates, but I guess everyone buys into the marketing hype they spin.
Dion Chemicals in Brookvale was selling sets of fibreglass fins for $25 last time I was in there.
@mick63..thats exactly what I've done..rang Paul nice new 6'8 with fins, hand made..Aussie made..can't beat that..butI'm just saying no=one should be selling boards without fins man!!
zenagain wrote:It's pretty simple.
Unless you're Derek Hynd, it's the easiest way of gouging another hundred bucks out of you.
But shapers make fuck all anyway, so not really worth complaining too much.
Exactly board prices have gone up very little over the last 20-25 years, compared to most things, including wages and overheads.
Plus if there going to give you fins there only going to be the cheapest fins possible, most guys have plenty of these fins kicking around anyway, and many guys will just throw the fins that come with the board in the cupboard and screw in some more expensive fins.
That said i personally don't find much of a difference in fin material like some guys do, for me shape and size is way more important.
Barley I know what you mean, couldn't believe it when I first saw it, but there are plenty of clowns that actually pay the extra for them
mick63 wrote:Barley I know what you mean, couldn't believe it when I first saw it, but there are plenty of clowns that actually pay the extra for them
I only just clued on to what this thread is all about, okay we are talking Firewires yeah?.
As they don't come with fins and cost a bit more, I guess im one of those clowns that pay extra but I can tell you for about $150 extra it is well worth it ive had about 30+ PU boards, local made, plenty of customs, hand shaped from start to finish, machine shaped/ghost shaped, backyard jobs, big name brands, but ive never had boards that have held up like my FW,s, in FST im sure the same goes for Josh dowling boards or diverse dyno core, you basically pay for what you get durability wise, they may look the same from the outside by there both totally different technologies.
PU boards can and do go great depending on shape and so can an epoxy sandwich composite construction, only difference is a epoxy sandwich constructed boards are way more durable and keep that magic feel much longer than a PU board, so for a bit extra you actually get twice as much life out of them, the fin thing doesnt phase me as i have a quiver of fins both in Futures and FCS.
I think its weird how people have attitudes or stigmas attached to certain surfboard labels especially if there not a local made board, the argument is normally boards such as Firewires threaten the future of local shapers, but how can boards priced at $900+ be a threat to a guy who's selling boards at $750? Boards from asia sold dirt cheap perhaps could be a threat to local shapers or too much competition pushing prices down could also send guys under (both happening on the goldie)
The other argument is there no good because there not shaped by hand, which is a weird way of thinking, as although shaping is definitely an Art a machine is much more accurate, plus most board makers unless there very small operations have there boards shaped by machine before cleaning them up, I know guys that don't even have a shop or factory that were once totally against the machine thing that pay to get there boards popped out on a profile machine before cleaning them up, after all it is 2013 and time is money.
BTW. the fins that most board builders give you with boards are dirt cheap as they buy them in large amounts, so its not true at all to say there gouging a few hundred bucks out of you, more likely under $20
I always ask for no fins, not going to pay an extra $40 for something I don't need. Plastic ones are good on short boards.
a gravelle is $650 including fins.....holy fuck don't know how paul can sustain those prices ? extra freight cost to penong of blanks and all materials etc.
is $650 a mates rate price?
gravelle is making boards for the love of it...only.....only a little wage there, all hand shaped to I guess, or are they machine cut elsewhere ?
Indo, I've got no problem with paying extra for the boards made with other materials and methods like the Dynocore and Firewire, like you say they last longer and are more durable etc, and the money is well spent, even an epoxy PU board is worth the extra. My point was why pay more money (by paying an extra amount for fins) for normal PU boards, usually with corporate logos like Channel Islands, JS and such where the construction and materials are the same as a board made by smaller outfits. The extra cost is just paying for the sponsorship/ marketing etc. No problem with machine shapes either, like you say the accuracy is good, the argument about machine shaped or hand shaped with a planer doesn't interest me. So basically I agree with you all the way. The original thread I thought was about paying extra for fins , I didn't think it was about Firewires.
Udo, that price is his basic price for a thruster.
@ Mick, Whoops sorry looks like i jumped to the wrong conclusion...didn't know those big name boards didn't come with fins now.
udo wrote:a gravelle is $650 including fins.....holy fuck don't know how paul can sustain those prices ? extra freight cost to penong of blanks and all materials etc.
is $650 a mates rate price?
gravelle is making boards for the love of it...only.....only a little wage there, all hand shaped to I guess, or are they machine cut elsewhere ?
$650 is like late 90,s early 2000 prices.
I know you can take your files and get them churned out on a machine at some places, i heard $30 per board.
That's a pretty normal price for getting direct from a shaper, you can get a better price than that. It's not mates rates it's called customer loyalty discount, mate rates is bullshit. If he's your mate, why would you screw him on the price?
I heard materials alone for a board are about $350+ then off course you have labour on top of that, but you also have to take into account other factors such as factory rent, electricity, insurance etc
I agree with Crustt, I pay my shaper Bean at Balin full price because he deserves it and it is still only $700 which is cheap. He offered discount and I wouldn't take it. Support your local shaper not those Al Merrick things as the finish and quality is average at best. And you don't get pro style shape unless you are a pro. Talk to the shaper and discuss the whole deal: Your weight, age, ability, waves to be used in, etc. Go custom, go aussie.
Are we talking about plastic fins which probably cost $2 to make or expensive fins which probably cost $20 but sell for $120? Obviously there's R&D and overheads in fins as well. But I think the profit margins on fins are much higher than surfboards.
Anyway, maybe SN should put together a local shapers page? Include breakdowns of the legit shapers in each area, with contact details etc.
Not sure how you'd sift the cream from the crop though.
What is up with buying a new surfboard and the cunts don't include fins?? are you kidding me?? its a fucking disgrace and un-Australian..might as well buy a carton and not include the beer!! Who-ever started this shit is a tool and a blatant rip-off!! Why, why, why?? anyone else agree? any shapers wanna try and explain? c'mon...